“Thirty years ago, 80 percent of the factory jobs were unskilled; today, only 30 percent of the factory jobs are unskilled. Very soon, only 15 percent of Wisconsin manufacturing jobs will be unskilled,” says Jerry Eyler, executive dean at Fox Valley Technical College (FVTC).

From robotic milking machines on dairies to multi-tasking computer numeric control (CNC) machining centers, automation is taking highly repetitive jobs out of the hands of workers. “Robotics and related technology can do jobs faster and more precisely than what is humanly possible, but the move to automation requires a highly skilled workforce that can orchestrate the equipment for top productivity and precision,” Eyler says. This technology will continue to morph Wisconsin’s factory floors into an information-driven system that aims for ever-greater levels of safety and productivity.

Manufacturing plays a huge role in Wisconsin’s economy, says Jon Stenerson, instructor at FVTC’s Automated Manufacturing Systems program. “Wisconsin is one of two states that have more people employed in manufacturing than employed by the government,” he says.

Part of that success in manufacturing lies within its education programs geared to train workers for this increasingly skilled field. FVTC is ahead of the pack in providing skilled workers for today’s manufacturing sector.

While it’s been a leading institution to train frontline factory workers, it recently partnered with ABB Robotics to establish a state-of-the-art Automated Manufacturing Systems Lab on its Appleton campus. It’s one of four institutions of higher learning in the nation that ABB Robotics now works with to develop factory automation training and seminars.
The lab, outfitted with seven robots and supporting software and hardware, is designed to offer a 2:1 student-to-robot training ratio. In addition, its curriculum is heavily weighted toward training today’s workers in all facets of manufacturing technology.

“Worldwide, there are 200,000 robotic systems in use and 25,000 of those are in the United States,” says Keith Fox, customer service sales manager for ABB Robotics. “The adoption of automated manufacturing systems is definitely still in the low-hanging fruit stage. We see robotics in manufacturing growing at 10 to 20 percent a year.”
Technology on the factory floor is so much more than one-armed robots quickly turning out precise parts. It entails truly understanding every step in the production process, then using information technology that measures every step and helps skilled workers further improve those processes. It also encompasses high-speed sorting systems, Radio Frequency Identification (RFID), and interconnected networks of production equipment that synthesize data and help plant managers and foremen fine-tune production and meet best-cost quotas.

“The greatest challenge is having the workforce trained to control the process. There is a shortage of people trained in the electro-mechanical principles that run these machines. That will be further compounded as only 35 million Generation Y workers replace the 70 million Baby Boomers retiring from the workforce. We must learn to work smarter, not harder,” says Eyler.

The gains that automation can bring to the production process are tremendous. “For example, one auto-guided vision system can do the picking work of up to 30 people. Where one person may be able to pick two parts every 10 seconds, a robotic system can pick a part every 1.5 seconds,” says Fox.
“While there is much interest in robotics to automate material handling processes, many of our Wisconsin manufacturers are interested in learning how they can use automated laser and plasma cutters and CNC brake presses in their plants. These advanced manufacturing technologies can replace manual labor and work much more precisely and efficiently,” says John Lenz, instructor for FVTC’s outreach seminars in advanced manufacturing concepts.
Robotics: Not just for the big boys
“Although many manufacturers have exited the Wisconsin scene, those that remain are very interested in integrating technology into their operations. New automation technology allows for faster changeovers so production can be more flexible. That means smaller manufacturers can produce what customers want in smaller numbers,” says Lenz.

“Many of our manufacturers in Wisconsin are $20 million or less in sales volume and many work with very small lot sizes, and too many assume that automation and advanced manufacturing can only apply to high-volume production,” he continues. “Smaller manufacturers can use programmable logic controllers, industrial networks, safety technology, integrated machining and automated material handling to greatly increase productivity, even with smaller lot sizes. We are presently underutilizing data that can be leveraged with integrated computer controls to help us better control scheduling, labor, reporting and material handling.”

Challenges to adoption
The shift in culture from a people-based manufacturing model to one that relies heavily on automated manufacturing principles takes some changes in thinking up and down the corporate ladder, says Eyler.
“Getting CFOs and manufacturing engineers to speak the same language and to understand that automation isn’t only for long production runs are our two greatest challenges,” he says. “They must understand how they can leverage technology to take costs out of their operations. Presently, neither side totally understands the ramifications of automation nor how it affects the value stream in their organizations. Wisconsin manufacturers are conservative by nature; they have a ‘show me the money’ attitude.

This attitude has helped them weather the recession, but they must expand how they look at costs when evaluating the feasibility of investing in new technology,” say Eyler.

Lenz says the weakest link lies not with the production equipment but with the ability to gather performance data from this equipment and have it interface with in-plant systems so managers can tweak equipment to improve productivity. “This is the next frontier. Those working with automated equipment focus on material flow. The next step is data flow. The data must be in real time with material flow, and then managers can improve production. While there is no standard yet, it is attainable and can help plants take automated equipment that typically starts out being 60 percent efficient and, using proper data flow, can make it up to 95 percent efficient. In working with many northeast Wisconsin manufacturers, I consistently see automated equipment being underutilized. Getting data flow analyzed in real time with material flow can greatly improve productivity,” he says.

Unfortunately, most facilities, even with automated equipment, lack the staff, training or experience to pull this data together in a structure that allows financial and frontline plant managers to make well-reasoned capital purchase decisions. “A fancy machine or robot is not going to cut it anymore. Decisions must be built on solid data, and that’s what our curriculum at FVTC and outreach seminars can help firms better understand,” Lenz says.

Photos by Shanna Wolf

By Clair Urbain

Clair Urbain of Urbain Communications provides marketing services to a variety of business-to-business clients in Wisconsin and across the country.

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